Laura Muir wins Scottish athlete of the year award for 2015

Laura Muir was fifth in the 1500m final at the World Championships in Beijing in August

Middle distance runner Laura Muir has been named Scottish athlete of the year for 2015.

British 1500m champion Muir won the award ahead of fellow nominees Eilidh Child, Lynsey Sharp and Robbie Simpson at Scottish Athletics' annual dinner.

And the 22-year-old's coach, Andy Young, took the performance coach of the year prize.

A fifth-place finish in the 1500m at the World Championships in China was among Muir's highlights of the year.

She became the first Scottish woman to break four minutes in the 1500m when she finished fifth with a time of 3mins 58.66secs in the final of the Diamond League event in Monaco in July.

Muir had won the same event in the Oslo Diamond League the previous month.

In addition, she took fourth place in the final of the 3,000m at the European Indoor Championships in the Czech Republic in January.

Young and Muir completed an awards double

"I am thrilled and delighted," she said of winning her award.

"There was terrific competition for this title and not just from those on the short-list - there have been so many good performances by Scottish athletes this past year.

"And I am delighted for my coach, Andy Young, to receive the top coaching award, as well. Andy works really hard at his coaching and it is good when he gets a bit of recognition."

Last year, Muir was clipped with less than 200m to go in the final of the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and then missed out on the final in the same event at the European Championships.

"I felt after the 2014 that I had that I really wanted to come out in 2015 and show the world what I am capable of," she added.

"I am happy I've managed to do that and it is hard to pick out a highlight."

Other winners at the awards dinner in Glasgow on Saturday included Josh Kerr as Under-20 athlete of the year and Alisha Rees in the Under-17 category. North Ayrshire AC, Aberdeen AAC and Central AC won the respective impact club, track and field club and off-track club of the year awards.